19 things you should know before dating a girl with acne

The struggle is real.

By
Paisley Gilmour

Apr 7, 2017

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1. Don't touch the face. Let's get this clear right now. You may think it's cute to go in for the face-stroke. Just know if you do, the whole time we'll be wondering when you last washed your hands and freaking out about all the bacteria you're rubbing into our skin. Or we'll recoil in horror.

2. Lay off with the advice. There's nothing more infuriating than having someone tell you what to do to 'cure' your acne. A) you haven't been through the hell we have trying to cure it. B) there is no universal miracle cure, dummy.

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3. Yes, we've tried cutting out dairy/sugar/carbs, and for most of us, it didn't work. Hearing about other women who've become clear-skinned by giving up certain foods does give us hope. It's only a lucky few who this actually works for, so don't give us that look when we're scoffing ice cream.

4. Nodding off together after sex is not an option. No matter how comfy and tired we are, we will ALWAYS get up and out of bed to wash our faces. It's pure torture but if we don't, we'll kick ourselves the next day when yet another spot pops up.

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5. Don't tell us not to wear makeup. Some makeup is more likely to clog pores, but in general, it doesn't make a difference. For some of us, wearing it makes us feel just a little less crap.

6. We can feel really dirty, even though our faces are so clean. It winds us right up when people think acne is caused by dirt. We are so meticulous with our skincare routines and our faces are probs way cleaner than yours.

7. Letting someone see us without makeup for the first time can be a huge deal. Acne has this amazing power to make us feel really rubbish about ourselves. We've almost dealt with looking at our own bare faces in the mirror without wanting to smash it into a thousand pieces. Having someone else see us at our most vulnerable isn't easy.

10. Sometimes we stay up all night googling cures. It can get to the point where we're so tired and frustrated that we find ourselves trying to home-make a concoction of aspirin and honey at midnight because we read about it on some suspect website.

11. If you get one tiny spot do not moan to us. You know nothing.

12. When we stay over we bring our whole bathroom cabinet. As much as we'd love to be spontaneous and casually decide to spend the night at yours, we need to plan ahead. If we're staying over, so's our cleanser, toner, face wash and moisturiser. We come as a package.

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"Baby, I’m coming over."

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13. Some days it can make us feel really, really low. If we seem a bit miserable sometimes, it's because we are. Acne can slowly eat away at someone's confidence and self-esteem.

14. No, popping spots is never a good idea. Suggesting we pick at our acne is terrible advice. We've heard it a thousand times from our dermatologist, popping just opens up the gate to all sorts of other evil bacteria.

15. Our fear of scarring is real.Scars can take months to fade, which is basically just another kick in the crotch.

16. We are sick of never seeing women with acne on TV. Why are there never any women with acne in movies or on TV shows? So many of us live with it, we're fed up of not seeing it represented on-screen.

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17. Don't tell us not to let it bother us. It isn't that easy, pal.

18. Our skin can be both dry AF and greasy AF at the same time. Adult acne just feels like a never-ending sick joke. We thought we'd left all that shit behind in high school and now we're going through it all over again.

19. It's not our fault. Hormones, stress, pollution, we cannot control these things, we are not witches.

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